NASCAR Hall of Fame 2013: Rusty Wallace, Leonard Wood lead group of pioneers into Hall

NASCAR Hall of Fame 2013: Rusty Wallace, Leonard Wood lead group of pioneers into Hall

NASCAR will induct its fourth class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Friday night, a class that celebrates some of the pioneers of the sport.

Former drivers Buck Baker, Herb Thomas, Cotton Owens and Rusty Wallace and former crew chief Leonard Wood make up the class.

With the ceremony tonight (7:30 p.m., Speed), the number of inductees will increase to 20 at the Hall of Fame, which opened in 2010 in Charlotte. They will join such noted pioneers and legends of the sport as Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip.

The ceremony will include speeches by Wallace and Wood, the two living members of the 2013 class.

Wallace’s son, Greg, will do the induction presentation for his father.

Leonard Wood’s nephew, Eddie, will be his inductor as Leonard joins his brother, Glen, as the second member of the famed Wood Brothers team to make it.

Buddy Baker, the son of Buck, will speak in honor of his father.

Pearson, a former championship driver, and former team owner Bud Moore — also a member of the Hall — will speak in honor of Owens, who made his mark as both a driver and owner.

Ned Jarrett, also a Hall of Famer, will speak for Thomas.

Here’s a look at this year’s five inductees:

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1

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Buck Baker

The first driver to win back-to-back championships, Baker won the 1956 and 1957 titles as part of a four-year span when he finished second in points 1955 and 1958.

Baker won 46 races in 636 starts from 1949-1976.

His son, Buddy, also was an accomplished driver and both were named to NASCAR’s list of the 50 greatest drivers when the sport celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998.

Baker died in 2002 at age 83.

2

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Cotton Owens

Owens was both a driver and a team owner, but is known more for his accomplishments as the owner of a racecar rather than behind the wheel.

He won nine races as a driver and 29 as an owner.

One of his biggest wins was the 1957 race on the Daytona Beach road course. He finished second in the 1959 series standings.

As an owner, he hired Junior Johnson and David Pearson as his drivers. Pearson won the 1966 championship driving an Owens-owned car.

Owens was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers in 1998. He died just weeks after his selection to the hall of fame at age 88.

3

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Herb Thomas

Thomas won two of the first five series championships as he captured the 1951 and 1953 titles and also was second in 1952 and 1954.

He had three Southern 500 victories among his 48 wins. He won 21 percent of all the races he entered in a career that went from 1949-1962, and he ranks 13th on the all-time win list.

Named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers in 1998, Thomas died at age 77 in 2000.

4

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Rusty Wallace

A short-track racer from Missouri, Wallace had one of the most stellar and colorful careers in the sport.
Wallace ranks ninth all-time with 55 career victories in a career that started with a second-place finish at Atlanta in 1980.

The 1989 series champion driving for Raymond Beadle, Wallace won the majority of his races (37) for team owner Roger Penske, his car owner for his final 15 seasons on the circuit.

Wallace won 25 times on short tracks at Bristol, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond.

The 56-year-old Wallace still works in the sport as an ESPN analyst, where his strong opinions and outspoken nature have served him well. He also owns a race team that has competed in the Nationwide Series.

5

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Leonard Wood

The chief mechanic and car builder for decades for his family-owned team, Wood will be the second member of the organization inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

His brother, Glen, the team’s first driver, was inducted last year.

Wood helped build cars that won more than 90 races for the team, which started racing in 1953. He served as crew chief for David Pearson and several other racing legends who have driven for the team.

Wood also is considered an innovator in pit-stop development. He created the team’s lightweight jack and the gravity-based fuel tank, which reduced the time of pit stops from more than a minute to under a half-minute.

The 78-year-old Wood still attends races today as part of the famed Wood Brothers Racing team, run by his nephews Eddie and Len.